good afternoon. the beatles drummer ringo starr, and the last surviving member of the bee gees, barry gibb, are among those who have been knighted in the new year honours. the ex—deputy prime minister, nick clegg, is also knighted and the the former ballerina, turned strictly come dancing judge, darcy bussell, becomes a dame. this report from lizo mzimba. more than 50 years after beatlemania, the fab four‘s drummer has been honoured with fies”, author 777 7 777777777

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manag: a letter, and you think it is a gas bill, it is one of those heavenly things. it is wonderful. singer and campaigner mark ormonde is , an; it if: ""— marceezz—j—gf musician rr—r— m—r culture. —— marc almond. musician and producer wylie, known as the godfather of crime, is made an mba. -- mbe. in godfather of crime, is made an mba. —— mbe. in the world of sport, sam warburton, who has captained wales and the british and irish lions, is made an obe. most of those being honoured are ordinary people doing extraordinary work, like evie ezequiel, who acts as a mentor for young people. young people are everything to me. i'm passionate about them, their life, their well—being, their welfare. for me to be recognised for my passion is one of the greatest honours ever. i'm in

com plete of the greatest honours ever. i'm in complete gratitude and appreciation. the majority of honours to go to people who aren't in the public eye, but who have given exceptional service. and in 2018, the honours committee say they will be looking to particularly recognise individuals who are involved —— were involved in the response to and the aftermath of the london and manchester terror attacks, and he fired grenfell tower. lizo mzimba, bbc news. in iran, thousands of people are attending pro—government rallies, following two days of anti—establishment protests. state television has shown crowds of supporters in the capital tehran. the anti—government protests saw people demonstrating against what they say is corruption, and falling living standards. 0ur persian service correspondent, kasra naji, reports. the third day of anti—government protests in iran. this one in central tae ran around the main

university campus. —— central tehran. they are shedding a slogan against ayatollah khamenei. shame on you, they say, let go of the country and three. a small protest but significant. there are reports of more demonstrations elsewhere in the country. not far in north tehran, this is a government—sponsored rally planned before the latest wave of anti—government protests of the past three days. the authorities hope it will be a show of force, a way of reclaiming the streets. the focus of this rally is to show support for the supreme leader. anti—government protests broke out on thursday with what was supposed to be a small demonstration against rising prices and continued unemployment. this man

is urging the ruling clerics to give him a job. demonstrators have a favourite slogan that says, the young are sitting idle while the mothers are sitting in palaces. many are angry that the authorities are using around's money on war efforts abroad, in places like syria, iraq and yemen, instead of spending it at home. clearly there is seething discontent. seems we have not witnessed in iran for several years. —— scenes. £60 million is to be allocated by the government to help fund new children's tv programmes. the cash will come from unallocated money from the 2010 bbc licence fee settlement, and will be given to itv, channel 4 and channel 5. the aim is to promote to help programme—makers compete with the bbc. younger people will enjoy the biggest inheritance boom of any post—war generation — that's according to the think tank, the resolution foundation, which analyses living standards. those born in the 80s and early 90s, known as millennials,

will inherit more wealth than previous generations. there's one snag though — they'll be in their 60s on average before they can enjoy the windfall, as joe lynam explains. we have long been told that millennials, aged between 17 and 35, face major financial challenges. they are paid less than their pa rents, they are paid less than their parents, they won't have generous pensions and they can't get on the housing ladder. but there may be some good news. we know that there isa some good news. we know that there is a big generation of wealth divide, the lenny is our i cumulated with slower than the previous generations. inheritance could solve a problem. they will play a big role. there will be lots more money coming down in the coming decades and it will be more widely spread because of home ownership amongst the parents. but this is not the silver bullet to millennials' living standards wars. the value of

inheritances is set to double over the next 20 years. thanks to baby boomers aged between 50 and 70 leaving behind expensive property and investments. but the think tank says the average age someone inherits is 61, too late for many of today's house—hunters. soaring property prices, especially in the south—east, lie behind the expected surge in inheritances in the future. if you are in your 30s or younger, and your parents owned property, you can expect to inherit something substantial. but if your parents don't own any major assets, then the future wealth prospects don't look as good. joe lynam, bbc news. with all the sport, here's katherine downes at the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. we start in melbourne, where australia held england to a draw in the fourth ashes test. what had looked like an opportunity for england turned once again into

the steve smith show. the australian captain forcing a draw in the fourth test. pat reid geary is in melbourne. morning has broken, but would the australians? with the weather kinder, england were up against punishing time and the me too batsman. david warner had been at the crease more than three and a half hours. in the face about self—denial, joe root had been given a puzzle. eventually he decided he might be the answer. he came on to bowl. warner took the bait, james vince took the catch. stuart broad's a ccu ra cy vince took the catch. stuart broad's accuracy andjonny vince took the catch. stuart broad's accuracy and jonny bairstow‘s agility removed shaun marsh. the other marsh was bogged down, initially. but mitchell escaped, crucially. steve smith was still there, as he had been all day. as he a lwa ys there, as he had been all day. as he always seems to be. with england getting no help from the pitch and even less from the stirling captain, all that was left was first smith, a

man who has now batted for more than 30 hours this series, to complete his century and secure the draw. england could not shift in the matter their efforts. to come off three very difficult games and put ina three very difficult games and put in a performance like that is —— like that is very pleasing. that is what we are about as a side. that is afair what we are about as a side. that is a fair reflection of what we are capable of as a team. england denied by smith and the flat pitch. they have produced a much improved performance and once suffered the embarrassment of a whitewash. but in truth, this wasn't ashes cricket at its most exciting. patrick geary, bbc news. staying with cricket, the england women skipper heather knight has received an 0be in the queen's new year's honours list. her team—mates, tammy beaumont and bowler anya shrubsole, are awarded mbes. also in the new year's honours list, british and irish lions captain sam warburton has been awarded an 0be. the welshman led the lions in the drawn test series against world champions new zealand during the summer. a full list of honours can be

found on the bbc website. celtic are looking to extend their lead at this top of the scottish premier league table this afternoon. they are playing rangers in the old firm derby. it has been an exciting start at celtic park. both teams have had early chances. rangers going close in the opening five minutes. since then, they have been under pressure. scott sinclair has had the best chances for celtic. he came had the best chances for celtic. he ca m e closest had the best chances for celtic. he came closest just had the best chances for celtic. he came closestjust on the cusp of half—time. no goals yet. and world champion bianca walked and has rounded off her outstanding year with gold at the inaugural world tae kwon do grand slam series in china. —— bianca walkden. she beatjackie galloway in the final. she'll the title and £52,000. the largest ever price pot in tae kwon do. she now plans to buy a house. that's all the sport for now. you can follow the closing stages of

the old firm derby on the bbc sport website. along with the rest of the football fixtures. i will be back with more later on. back to you. thank you. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel throughout the afternoon. the next news is at 5pm on bbc one. bye for now. you are watching the bbc news channel. let's return to the new year ‘s honours list. helen sharman was the first briton to go in to space, when she travelled to the mir space station in 1991. for that, she was given an 0be. this year, she's been appointed a companion of the order of st michael and st george. when i spoke to her earlier, she explained what it meant to hear

to be awarded again. it's such a pleasure. it really is a great honour. i'm absolutely thrilled. an 0be in 1993. the cmg is her services to education. basically what you have been doing since you came back to earth? well, a lot of what i have been doing. in my day job i am what i have been doing. in my day jobiama what i have been doing. in my day job i am a manager at imperial college. this is what i do outside of that. it varies from travelling to international countries, as well as what i do in this country. it is something i have always felt very strongly and passionately about, that we need to understand science much more. you did a lot of work in the few years after you went to space, in schools, trying to encourage youngsters to get interested in the world beyond the world, as it were. how has that changed? how has that developed over the 25 years? very interesting,

actually. 25, 30 years ago, we condescendingly talked about the public understanding of science. the deluded do that science communication then attended, with some notable exceptions, tended to be scientists who are not necessarily academically mega talented. it was seen as the kind of thing that if you were a real serious academic you would not do that kind of work. now the tables have turned. many scientists organised science cafes, clubs and schools, whole load of stuff. science festivals. it is bringing science to life, making it relevant. is that starting to reverse some of the trans people have been worried about, about the number of young people considering careers in science studying sciences at higher level? i think so. science studying sciences at higher level? ithink so. it science studying sciences at higher level? i think so. it takes a long time for that to actually spin. but it looks more optimistic. science is pa rt it looks more optimistic. science is part of our society. it is not

something you learn at school and forget about it. it is relevant. it has tangible benefits to society. you were appointed to the order of st michael and st george in the new year ‘s honours list. it was originally ordered to those holding commands of high position in mediterranean territories during the napoleonic wars. it is now for people who render extraordinary non—military service in a foreign country. it is that because you are working with the russians?” country. it is that because you are working with the russians? i wonder if it was to do with my training in the soviet union. space is hardly this country. maybe it is the work i've done in other countries since then. i did work of the british embassy in moscow. i'm affiliated with the science museum as well. being part of their exhibitions. recently i made a video for them. they did a fabulous exhibition on the cosmonauts. lots of stuff going on internationally. that is what spaceis on internationally. that is what space is and that is what science is. it is something that is a common

language in many respects. were you surprised when you found out he were being given, appointed to this award, given that you i'd already had an honour? exactly. really surprised. i had a letterfrom the cabinet office. i thought i'd done something really, really bad, or maybe it was something really exciting. it was for the latter, thankfully. i never expected it. very happy because it is something that recognises what i have been doing since my space flight, rather than the actual space flight, which is 26 years ago. helen sharman. lord adonis, who resigned last night as the government's infrastructure adviser, has accused ministers of becoming "hypersensitive to any criticism". the former labour cabinet minister says brexit has "infected" the entire conduct of whitehall. supporters of brexit have responded angrily to the resignation, with the former conservative leader, iain duncan smith, accusing him of "pontificating." and lord adonisjoins us now from westminster. good afternoon. let me ask you first

of all, are you pontificating? there was a referendum and there was a clear result. i don't think i'm pontificating any more than iain duncan smith. i have a right to give my opinion. i have been doing that. i was appointed as a gum and adviser to give independent advice. 0ne i was appointed as a gum and adviser to give independent advice. one of my great regret is that the government which said it wanted independent advice, then decided it didn't like the advice if it was truly independent. and i'm afraid thatis truly independent. and i'm afraid that is part of the malaise which is sweeping whitehall. a hyper defensive government which has got its back against the wall in the mishandling of brexit, which is turning into a very serious national crisis. and is seeking to scapegoat independent advisers and any others who come across its path. i think it is very depressing and it is playing out, as i say, in what is now quite a dangerous national crisis. and

next year, 2018, will be utterly decisive because in my view we are going something similar to the suez crisis, really serious for this government. a civil service and state machine which is fundamentally out of sympathy with the government it is supposed to be serving, because it believes the policy of the government is essentially praiseworthy. and how this plays out next year in the context of slow growth, declining living standards and a real sense of alienation on the part of a large number of citizens, i think, the part of a large number of citizens, ithink, is the part of a large number of citizens, i think, is going to be a bigger serious problem for the country. is iain duncan smith not entitled to say there is more than a whiff of partisanship in what you write? your resignation letter talks about european union withdrawal bill is the worst legislation of your lifetime. you go on in your letter to compare theresa may to anthony eden. you say what the country needs

isa eden. you say what the country needs is a radical reformist government in the clement attlee mould. this is labour propaganda, isn't it? we live in alice in wonderland at the moment. all of those opinions you have just read out would have been held by mainstream conservatives until a couple of years ago. they are not much different to what david cameron was saying when he supported staying in. conservatives of the generation of michael heseltine, john major, kenneth clarke, this is precisely what they were saying. john major said when he was prime minister that his policy was for britain to be at the heart of europe. the policy of theresa may is to wrench as out of virtually every institution with the words europe in the title, even if it sacrifices britishjobs and the title, even if it sacrifices british jobs and traits. this the title, even if it sacrifices britishjobs and traits. this is not partisan. unless being sensible is being partisan, and being lunatic is somehow being loyal to the true cause. that is alice in wonderland.

you say in your letter you would have felt obliged to resign in any event. leaving aside brexit, is —— because of the government decision on the east coast rain —— rail franchise. why do you feel so strongly about that? we're talking about hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers money. in the context of taxpayers money. in the context of brexit and the huge squeeze on the public finances, that is a very large sum of money. it isn't money which is going to reduce air —— rail fa res which is going to reduce air —— rail fares or boost services, it is going straight into the pockets of billionaire railway companies, stagecoach and virgin, and their shareholders. in my view it was unjustified and unnecessary. they bid far too much for the franchise to run the trains on the east coast line going from london to york and edinburgh. and of course what they wa nted edinburgh. and of course what they wanted was to renegotiate. i know what chris grayling did was wrong

because i found myself as transport secretary precisely in his shoes in 2009, when exactly the same rail franchise, the operator came to me captain hand and said, we overbid for the franchise, we want to negotiate. i said for the franchise, we want to negotiate. isaid i for the franchise, we want to negotiate. i said i couldn't agree to negotiation. you made commitments to negotiation. you made commitments to the state and you shall honour them. if you default on those commitments, i will do two things. i will establish a public operator to ta ke will establish a public operator to take over the services, which will bea take over the services, which will be a deterrent to anybody else following suit. and i will also ban you from bidding for a future sacrifice —— franchises. if you can't fall fill the contract once, you can do it a second time. what chris grayling has done for ideological reasons his bail out stagecoach and virgin on the east coast line and he is allowing stagecoach to bid and be on the short list for the next three rail franchises, so they are paying no

penalty whatsoever for having their contract renegotiated. now that is just an open invitation to every other loss—making railway company in the country to demand the same. if they do so successfully, the hundreds of millions of pounds which the taxpayer is already liable for because of the bail out,... does that make you broadly sympathetic to the calls made by your party leader, jeremy corbyn, assuming that you are now going to return to the labour ventures having not —— having stopped playing this independent role, that there should be renationalisation of the railways? i'm a pragmatist on the issue of public and private sector. the state should contract with whoever offers the best deal. if that is a public operator, great. if it is a private operator, great. if it is a private operator, great. if it is a private operator, great. the worst of all worlds is to have profit—making private companies who think they have got the state over a barrel and

countermand blank cheques —— undermanned blank cheques. chris grayling is not prepared to exercise the authority of the state when it comes to private companies defaulting on their contracts. that u nfortu nately defaulting on their contracts. that unfortunately is the position we're in. ithink unfortunately is the position we're in. i think it is a very serious position for the country a reflection of the problem with brexit. the nervous breakdown taking place across whitehall as part of the reason why officials and the department for transport worked —— weren't giving the proper advice they should have been giving, and telling chris grayling his conduct was not acceptable. the government insists it is not the bail out. it is what it is. until they're actually justify what they do, which they refuse to do, i think the word bail out stands. you have said you wa nt bail out stands. you have said you want this take on up by the public accou nts want this take on up by the public accounts committee and will share of troubling evidence with the committee investigating the bail out. that is pretty ominous threat, isn't it? in the newspapers this

morning i have started to show that evidence but there is more to come. i was basically told by the government that if i carried on criticising chris grayling, they would withdraw cooperation from the national infrastructure plan it in. i think that is an extraordinary state of affairs for the government's home infrastructure advisers are being warned of criticising the comment because it may be politically embarrassing. it isa may be politically embarrassing. it is a further reflection of this brexit crisis, which has gripped the government and whitehall. we are not having proper policy—making, proper scrutiny of ministers when they are behaving ideological it. you could simply argue that that is them saying, concentrate on what you're paid to do, and independent adviser. the east coast mainline is one of the most important pieces of national infrastructure plan the country. it links scotland and england. and some of the biggest and most vital cities in the country. if the national infrastructure plan and cannot comment on that, it has no

reason to exist. lord adonis, thank you very much. if the cold weather has got you thinking about summer sunshine, there's a warning today from the consumer group which? that holiday firms may be misleading consumers. many tour operators promote money—off deals, providing travellers book by a certain date. but a study found that half the holidays advertised were the same price — or even cheaper — after the offer expired. the firms involved have all denied misleading their customers. nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including mount everest. the new safety regulations also prevent double amputee and blind climbers from attempting to reach the summit of the world's highest peak. the government says the law has been revised to make mountaineering safer and reduce the number of accidents and deaths. a giant panda who was born and raised in captivity and released into the wild, has been recaptured in south west china. tao tao, who was bred artificially to increase china's population of pandas, has been brought back to the liziping nature reserve to monitor his physical condition. nichola carroll has the story.

recaptured in the wild. recaptured in the wild. one of china's most famous giant pandas has been found again. a rare glimpse of conservation effort to save the endangered species in the mountains of china. his tractor cholera scanned and id checked, tao tao is found to be in good health, weighing in at 115 kilograms. translation: before on the bike and his fat, it is all quite good. we didn't find his fat, it is all quite good. we didn'tfind any his fat, it is all quite good. we didn't find any external parasites. he is very clean and very pretty. there's not much operation on his teeth. —— aberration. there's not much operation on his teeth. -- aberration. he was born in captivity in 2010. but he was raised by his mother without human contact in the hope it would improve his chances of survival and improve his fighting skills. his good physical condition indicates he is living a healthy and independent life in the wild. name—macro will continue to be

monitored. but there doesn't seem to be any doubt that this giant pandas living well in the wild. nicola carroll, bbc news. here is a job which is not for the faint—hearted. these power workers in graduate in china on top of the world's highest power cables. they have to walk out over a gorge. the line gets rather steep. they need excellent balance, quite a bit of strength and frankly an awful lot of nerve in order to get back safely. rather than than me. volunteers have released thousands of baby turtles into the sea of west mexico to protect the olive ridley hatchlings, whose numbers have fallen sharply because of poachers. it is hoped the

creatures will return to the beach in 30 years to lay eggs of their wrong. now let us see what the prospects are for the weather this weekend. here is darren betts. good afternoon. it looks like we are going to end the year with our fourth named storm of the season. it is very windy. today the winds picking up a little bit. some showers around but also some brighter skies and some sunshine ahead of this rain that is pushing into the far south—west. weather weather and moving north. quite cold at the moment in scotland and north east england. much milderfurther south. heavy rain arriving this evening. that moves north and east overnight. into the cold air in scotland. more cold air over the hills. myler elsewhere. it is the strength of wind which is going to be the issue. storm dylan arriving close to northern ireland and into scotland. the met office have issued an amberwarning. 70 scotland. the met office have issued an amber warning. 70 mile prior wins. —— 70 mph winds. pretty windy

elsewhere in southern scotland and the far north of england. things calm down in the afternoon. some sunshine. the winds drop. some bands of showers. a range of temperatures. chilean scotland. 12 degrees in southern england. —— chilly in scotland. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. more than 1,100 people are recognised in the new year honours, with knighthoods for the beatles drummer, ringo starr and bee gees singer, barry gibb. strictly come dancing judge, darcey bussell is made a dame. the labour peer, lord adonis, says attempts to silence his criticism of the government forced him to step down as its infrastructure adviser. he quit yesterday suggesting whitehall had been "infected" by brexit. thousands of iranian government supporters are attend ing officially—sponsored rallies across the country, after two days of anti—establishment protests. now on bbc news.

sir bruce forsyth, sir roger moore, glenn campbell and john noakes — just a few of those who left us this year, and whose lives are celebrated in review 2017: we remember.